53-man Roster

Well, folks, the Steelers made the final cut-down to 53 players. And, there weren't a whole lot of surprises.

Mr. Drop Foot, Tony Hills, made the team. Bruce Davis made the team, though I'm not sure why, other than the fact that he was a third round draft pick.

Willie Reid and Eddie Drummund, thankfully, did not make the team. Reid has been disappointing Steeler fans since he was selected in the third round in 2006. He always looked like he was going to break a huge play, either catching a screen pass, or on a kick return, or punt return, but was either too hurt or too crappy to make a difference.

And, Drummund, well, he was basically the second coming of Allen Rossum. Since the two guys that are probably going to be returning kicks -- Mewelde Moore on kickoffs and Santonio Holmes on punts -- are going to be doing other things for the team, at least we won't be tying up roster spots on guys that really aren't good enough at what they're supposed to be "specialists" at.

That's the nice way to put it. The not-nice way to put it is that we've had a crappy return team (and, really, crappy coverage units) since Antwaan Randle-El left. I'm not saying that, for a second (or really third) wide receiver, we should have paid him $27 million for six years, but, at this point, with how high the salary cap is, that's actually a bargain. The third wide receiver position and the punt returner would both be set. Going into this season, we really don't have a guy at either job that we can count on. We kept Cedrick Wilson longer than necessary and used a second round pick on Limas Sweed. We also drafted some guy named Willie Reid and kept him way too long.

So... we'd have that going for us. Which would be, ya know, nice.

Heading into the season, that's really the only thing that's troubling me. The return guys and the coverage units are below average, to be kind. With how tough the schedule is supposed to be this year, the fact that Cleveland is improved, and the fact that we're not going to be as good on defense this season as we were last season, we'll need all the help we can get. And we're not going to get it from the kicking game.

A couple of real quick notes about the roster...

It's posted at Steelers.com already: http://news.steelers.com/team/player/.

There are only two tight ends on the entire roster. Two. I'll admit that none of the guys we had -- other than Spaeth and Heath -- weren't anything to write home about and really didn't belong on the roster, but you're kind of required to keep at least three, right? Just in case? With all the talk of getting the tight end more involved, we really haven't all that much... but what if something happens to either of those guys? I guess that, if they get put on injured reserve, we can go back and pick up one of the guys we cut today. Just seems risky.

Dallas Baker made the roster. I have to say that he didn't impress me and, if we're going to go about the business of only keeping guys that belong and not just filling spots because that's how many we think we should have, then Baker didn't deserve to make the team. We should've taken a chance, not kept him, only had four receivers on the roster, and kept someone on defense. I doubt that it's the sort of thing that will come back to haunt us, but you never know.

I know that Batch's injury wasn't season-ending, but putting him on the PUP list might actually be worse for the team than putting him on IR. I like Charlie Batch, he's good for the team and he's great for his home town of Homestead. I just think this was probably going to be his last season with the team anyway. Since we signed Leftwich and think that Dixon is going to be the back-up of the future... why not put Batch on IR, keep Leftwich from looking over his shoulder, and let him hold the clipboard while Dixon gets more comfortable in the back-up role. Ben gets hurt frequently enough that we need someone good, but we don't really need to be three deep at the position. I like Batch more than I like Leftwich, but the fact remains that Batch's contract runs out at the end of the year, he'll be 34 in December, and there's no way we're keeping four quarterbacks when Week 6 rolls around and we have to make a decision on Batch. At that point, logic would dictate bringing him back and either cutting Leftwich or moving him to the third string. Neither of those are valid options, since Leftwich is younger and would take on the back-up role a lot more easily than the third job. Waiting just delays the inevitable and makes the decision that much tougher (and that much more of a dick move). Best to just get it out of the way now.

For the first time since 2005, I like our linebackers. A lot. We don't have a gamebreaker like Joey Porter, Greg Lloyd, Chad Brown, or Kevin Greene -- or really even Levon Kirkland. What we do have is a bunch of really good guys that can all tackle, cover, and rush the passer.

1. Keyaron Fox is a guy that can step in if everyone else in this numbered list goes down. He's also a great special teams guy.
2. Larry Foote is very capable and gives us a lot of options.
3. James Farrior just signed a contract that means he'll retire a Steeler and can still play at a high level on instinct, intelligence, and guts for the next 2-3 years.
4. James Harrison is better than I give him credit for. He's not as great as the other rush linebackers we've had, but he's good enough considering the talent he has around him.
5. Lamar Woodley is going to get better and he's already pretty damn good. If nothing else, he's an improvement over Clark Haggans.
6. Lawrence Timmons is a bad dude and he's going to be great. Yes, yes, I know that I hated this, pick, but I've pretty much hated every first round pick the Steelers made this century. I was an idiot when the pick was made, but I eventually came to my senses. That's where I am now. At this point, though, Timmons is at least very good and can help in a lot of ways -- rushing the passer, dropping in coverage, and laying motherfuckers out in run support. And, in my defense, I liked the Casey Hampton and Kendall Simmons picks outright and I like the Polamalu and Holmes picks, I just thought we traded too much to move up and get them.

We don't have any all-stars, but we do have a number of quality moving parts. If you give Dick LeBeau six good-to-great players instead of two world-beaters and four scrubs, he can do a lot more damage. I'm interested in seeing what he has in store for opponents.

Of course, the quality of our linebackers pretty much debunks my theory that we're switching a Cover 2 this season or next. Or, really, at any point in the near future. But, I'll take great linebackers over being wrong every time.

Vikings vs. Steelers Review

EK keeps asking me for a review, so here it is:

1. The first team offensive line got abused. This is to be expected, though, because the Vikings have themselves one hell of a defensive line. And one hell of a front seven. Their defense, in general, is one of the best in the league, though their front seven makes up for weaknesses in the secondary. We're not going to face a group this good in the regular season, so it isn't much cause for alarm. Seriously. Everyone in the NFC North should be scared of this group, but everyone in the NFC North should temper their fear with the knowledge that Tavaris Jackson or Gus Ferrotte is going to be the starting quarterback of the Vikings and Bernard Berrian or Sydney Rice is going to be the primary receiver. In the regular season, this would have been ugly, but we would have won all the same.
2. Rashard Mendenhall put the ball on the ground twice, but that actually is not cause for alarm. The important thing to remember is that he did this when the games don't count. Tomlin was pissed during post-game interviews and has already forced the rookie to carry a football with him at all times. A $100 bounty has been set on anyone that can knock the ball out. But, in all honesty, what's $100, even to the practice squad players? If you came up to me and said, "See that big black guy over there? Knock the ball he's carrying out of his hand and I'll give you a hundred bucks," I would need to be blackout drunk to try it. It proves a point, but ultimately falls short. What we need to take away from the experience is that he will not put the ball on the ground as frequently during the season (Tiki Barber has taught us that players can overcome fumble issues and go on to become legends) and that he's progressing very, very well thus far. He's running lower, making yards after contact, and properly using his blend of power and speed to punish defenses.
3. The first team defense does not suck as bad as we might think. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This defense runs off the linebackers. We're only as strong as the four guys we have playing Mike, Sam, Will, and Buck. We have five good-to-great guys in Timmons, Foote, Farrior, Harrison, and Woodley. LeBeau will put them in a position to succeed.
4. I am not happy with the Eddie Drummund experiment. He's the second coming of Allan Rossum. As much as I hate Willie Reid and curse him for making me believe in his potential, I really hope that he steps up, claims both return jobs on Thursday, and we can move on.
5. Someone asked me the other day what I thought of Tomlin. I officially like him. I think he's good for the team. For all the screaming, yelling, fire, and brimstone that Cowher brought, he really didn't discpline anyone. Casey Hampton was declared too fat. Willie Reid has to fight for his roster spot and has (somewhat) responded. Mendenhall's fumbles will not go unnoticed or unpunished. Tomlin doesn't seem like a hard ass, but he is one. The old adage tells us that if you had a player's coach, hire a hard ass for your next coach, and if you had a hard ass, hire a player's coach. Cowher was a player's coach and the players seem to be responding to the fact that Tomlin is a hard ass. Let's hope it lasts the season, because it's going to be rough. Cowher would have softened at some point, but Tomlin will not. And that's why I like him.
   

Training Camp

So, I was at Training Camp on 8/11. This post is a little late. I'll admit that. I've had other things occupying my time, but that's not a real excuse. So, I apologize. I especially apologize to the the two or three new readers I've picked up that work with my wife.

At this point, I've got up to five or six people asking me why I haven't gotten up off my ass (or gotten in front of a computer and sat on my ass) to update the ol' blog.

Without further to do, here it is...

First of all, here are pictures:















That's Jack Lambert. I know it's a picture of a picture, but I was so excited to take it that I needed to take it three times to get it right. And I still probably didn't.















Distance shot. That's about as close as I got and get a decent picture.

(I would like to add that I went with my father-in-law to Training Camp and I hope my kids get his eyes and my wife's eyes -- both have excellent vision, but he makes a hawk look like a bat. I was standing with him on a hill 200 yards from where his buddies were sitting. You can see them in the upper right-hand corner, towards center if you're fucking super human like he is. He spotted them at 200 yards, then said, "Oh. Looks like Frank joined them and he brought his cooler." I am not kidding. I swear that he's going to be on CSI: Williamsport and that the Who song they choose is "I Can See for Miles". Works, right?)














That's Casey Hampton. Seriously. That's about as good a shot as I got at the players. They came out of the dorms, they made their way quickly down the stairs, and they were on the practice field. I got there late enough that people with cameras and camera phones were 4 or 5 deep in front of me, so when I player came along, I had a small window (not obscured by hands and picture-taking devices) to snap a picture. Casey Hampton was the only player big enough for me to capture.

And... those are the quality pictures that I got. Seriously. I am bad with a camera.

Thoughts from Training Camp:

From what I could see at a distance (we eventually made our way closer to practice, thanks to the keen eyes of my father-in-law, who saw his buddies at a hundred yards and then decided the best path to meet them -- I am not sucking up, since he rarely reads this, I was just that impressed, especially since I am "no sighted" and can't see near or far, even with contacts.)

1. Heath Miller is, by far, the best tight end on the roster. This is pretty much obvious, but became more obvious when they did a blocking drill. Basically, they put a dummy in front of a cage that didn't allow the players to stand upright, so the player had to rush the dummy on all fours and hit the dummy as hard as they could. Any time I became disinterested in this drill, I'd hear a BANG, look over, and see Heath knock the friggin' thing into orbit. We know he has great hands, but it's often overlooked how far he has come as a blocker. The guys behind him have, essentially, nothing to do but improve their blocking and their performance in this drill, yet Heath completely destroyed them in it.
2. Dennis Dixon throws a nice ball. Tight spiral, leads the receiver well. We need to find a way to keep this kid, particularly since it looks like his knee is holding up.
3. Even though it rained and we left early, every Steeler fan needs to make their way out to Training Camp at some point. You get star-struck looking at the players coming from the dorms to the field, you feel the anticipation of the coming season in the practice, you get to take a look at the kids that you don't see all that much of in the regular season, and you get an appreciation for just how choreographed and by rote these practices are. Some dude would blow a whistle every five minutes, and the players would line up in another area with their coaches as though they were part of a military formation. It's something to behold and everyone should... well, behold it.
   

Steelers vs. Bills Review

Well, the Steelers lost and that sucks. But, ya know, it's the pre-season and we can get past that. What's difficult to get past is how crappy the first team looked against the first team of Buffalo. Let's break it down...

The first team looked like crap:

There's really no way around this. They looked like crap. And, really, I'm willing to give Roethlisberger the benefit of the doubt on his interception. That's a tip drill play and, 9 times out of 10, it falls harmlessly to the ground. Donte Whitner made a great play on it and that's why the Bills reached for him in last year's draft.

However... on offense, there were two holding penalties and two false starts. The run blocking was fairly inspired and I like Chris Kemoeatu. He looked fat, angry, and effective. I think he's going to be an excellent replacement for Faneca if he learns how to pass block. The pass blocking, for the second game in a row, was decent.

The thing that concerns me is the mental errors and the fact that it was pretty easy for the Bills -- a team that we crushed last September -- to knock us out of synch on offense and defense. And it was really unsettling to see the Bills run the ball with impunity on what is supposed to be one of the best front sevens in the NFL.

But our offense and defense looked really good against their second team:

I think it's important that all the starters looked like they were coming off the field and Tomlin said, "Aw, hell no. Get your asses back out there!" The first team guys re-gained some confidence after being pushed around and they learned that half-assing their way through things is not going to cut it.

After 15 years of a player's coach like Cowher, Tomlin is refreshing. I don't know that he'll be more successful than Cowher, he's just refreshing at this point.

The Good News:

Christ died for our sins. That's really good news, because it means that every human that believes in Him gets a fresh start.

Oh! The good news for the Steelers! There's some of that, too. The Bills are breaking in a new offensive coordinator, so they had more bells and whistles in their game plan than did the Steelers. The Steelers were basically running a vanilla offense and hoping they could out-talent the Bills. Unfortunately, Buffalo brought the scheme, and we looked crappy.

In the regular season, we probably win this game, but the bad news is that we're not that much more talented than the Bills, who figure to finish at or under .500.

Just when I thought there was something positive...:

Leodis McElvin ran a kickoff back for a touchdown. Aside from a missed field goal by Jeff Reed (he'll be fine, he's a professional), the special teams coverage units looked really solid (although the return units were fairly sucky). Then McElvin ran that kick back pretty much untouched and I came away with the game with a Pollyanna-ish outlook being pretty much screwed.

Byron Leftwich looked okay:

But he held the ball too long and couldn't pull the "college shit" that Roethlisberger can, as evidenced by his lost fumble that was overturned by the refs.

He still might work, but I'll be nervous if Ben goes down and Batch isn't healthy, forcing Leftwich into the line-up. He doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough like Batch and he can't hold it and pull off a hero play like Ben. I'd be nervous, but not as nervous as I'd be if Dennis Dixon was handed the keys. I... guess that means it's a good signing.

Rashard Mendenhall continues to improve:

He showed poor vision on a couple of runs, the coaching staff talked to him, and he was more patient other times. He demonstrated great patience and vision on his touchdown and it looks like the sky is the limit for this rookie. Willie Parker will have his time -- definitely this season while Mendenhall is learning -- but the young man from Illinois will be the starter before long if he keeps improving like this.

The tackling and fundamentals sucked my balls:

There are three guys on the team that know how to tackle. They should sit down with the position coaches and teach the rest of the team how it's done.

Their names are: James Farrior, Bryant McFadden and... wait for it... Lawrence Timmons.

As much as I was opposed to the drafting of Timmons, he is a Collision Tackler. Ronnie Lott, one of the most feared hitters in NFL history described football as a collision sport. He would aim at a spot behind the man he was trying to tackle and try to reach it. Timmons has a similar tackling philosophy. If you want to bring a motherfucker down, Timmons is your man.

The Steelers need to propagate this philosophy throughout their defense. Tomlin has said that a football game is a war of attrition. In order to atrophy our opponents, we need to tackle like Timmons as a defense.

Getting Troy back and having him instigate some of these collisions, as well as teaching the defense as a whole to tackle in this manner will bring us closer to our goal: A World Championship.

And... We're Back!

If you had asked me when the last time I posted was, I would have said towards the end of July. I didn't realize that it had pretty much been two months.

Now that I think about it, I was going to mention something about the Pens and their off season and the Pirates and their futility, but I just never got around to it. So, I'm just gonna move past that and talk about the Steelers.

Okay...

Two things about the Pirates:

1. People that are smarter than me (like Keith) think that the Pirates got the best of the deals they made with the Yankees and the Dodgers/Red Sox. Hopefully, in about 3-4 years, we'll be able to trade the guys that we just got for some more guys with potential. Eventually, we'll have, like, 185 guys with tons of potential.
2. As of right now, we suck. And I suck. And you suck. The Pirates are bad for my self esteem.

Moving on...

1. I think it's awesome that the Pens signed someone named Satan. I'm looking forward to making a bunch of jokes about that in the coming months.
2. It's kind of weird and unsettling that Hossa didn't end up signing with the Pens and signed with Detroit. The Pens were offering multiple years and a young nucleus. The Red Wings were offering one year and a bunch of old dudes and one last chance at the cup. And he took the Wings. I guess he's really serious about winning a Cup now. And only now.

On with the Steelers...

On Dan Rooney and the fact that the Rooneys might no longer own the team:

1. The team will get sold and it will probably be to a really rich fucker that doesn't know football, but is a big-time fan.
2. That person will be a great businessman that will leverage the fact that the Steelers are the most popular team on the planet and find new revenue streams for the team. Side note: If the salary cap goes away, the new, rich owner will be the best thing that ever happened to the Steelers. Even if it doesn't, we need an owner that will bring this franchise into the 21st century. Really, we've got that whole, "small market, underdog" thing going for us, but we've got a shot at becoming one of the five most profitable franchises in the country behind the Redskins, Cowboys, Patriots, and Giants. Dan Rooney has been holding us back. I know that's about as acceptable as stepping on the Pope's throat and pissing on him, but it's true. Fiscally, the Rooneys have been holding the franchise back.
3. No one can hate on the NFL in this situation. They have clear guidelines about what interests a team owner can and can't have. They don't even allow team owners to buy teams in other sports... even in other countries, as Tampa Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer found out when he tried to buy Manchester United. So, it goes without saying that there's a little bit of an issue with the NFL and the Rooneys owning a horse racing track and a casino. It's been a long time in coming. The other members of the family want out. Let Dan keep his title and position and Art Rooney II as well. Let them go to the owners meetings. Just run the business properly and cash the checks.
4. Or is that too simple?

On Favre's trade to the Jets:

1. From a PR standpoint, the Packers were trying to cover their collective asses since Lawrence Tynes won the NFC Championship Game. They wanted to know, after two years of being held hostage during the offseason, if Brett was going to retire. So they made him announce something in March. And he cried. And we all wanted Brett to sail off into immortality. When he decided to come back, the Packers had the, "Hey, I've unloaded the dishwasher the last fifteen times" defense going for them, saying that Favre decided to hang them up several months ago. Favre was going to win the PR battle if he changed his mind. They knew it. They just needed to cover themselves in the event that he had a change of heart.
2. He had a change of heart and him and Deanna worked the media for waaaaaaaaaaaay too long before Kaiser Goodell finally said, "Shit or get off the pot." So the Packers shit him to New York.
3. I hope both the Packers and the Jets finish 8-8 this year and no one can say that either team made out in the long run. The important thing is that John Madden has at least another year to extol his man-crush on Favre and that the media will still have shit to analyze. The truth of the matter is that Rupert Murdoch probably paid Favre $15 million to pull this stunt so that people would have something to talk about (and read about online and watch on TV) through the slowest sports period of the year.
4. Favre will join Franco Harris, Johnny Unitas, and Jerry Rice in the Ring of Honor of Players That Should Have Known When Enough Was Enough.
5. I realize that I just shit on a bunch of legends of NFL football just now... but, search your heart. You know I'm right. Funny thing is that Rice and Harris both ended up on the Seahawks, which gave those fucking whiners some ammunition in terms of sour grapes when the Steelers beat them in Super Bowl XL. I mentioned that, right? The Steelers won Super Bowl XL. There's a DVD collection and everything.

On the Byron Leftwich signing/Charlie Batch injury:

1. I don't like Leftwich for this offense. Regular readers (really dating back to 2004 or 2005) know that I like him as a player and a person. I think he has a lot of heart and he's a great natural leader. The guys in the huddle believe in him and play their hearts out for him. However, he's bad for this offense because he holds onto the ball too long and has a throwing motion that takes roughly 45 seconds to complete. If he's pressed into service, he'll get sacked a lot because he isn't nimble enough to shake off a pass rusher, run to the outside, and fling the ball 50 yards to a surprised receiver like Roethlisberger is. It's that simple. We're going to let guys through this season and he would get punished severely. He'll get back up and keep trying, because he's scrappy like that, but he won't get it done.
2. Collar bone injuries are tricky, just ask Charles Rodgers (Google Charles Rodgers Collar Bone). Even when he comes back, he could re-injure it at any time. I think that this injury might effectively end the Charlie Batch Era in Pittsburgh because of the nature of the injury. Dennis Dixon will be the top back-up going into the 2009 season.
3. I'm going to miss Batch. He's from here and he seems like a really good guy.

On the preseason game against the Eagles:

1. I thought the first team offense looked sharp. I liked Big Ben's confidence. I liked that we scored. I also will hold all judgments until I see more, since there was only one series.
2. The offensive line actually looked great. Fewer breakdowns, less Ben running for his life, big holes for Fast Willie. It could be that the departure of Alan Faneca will be a boon to this unit, since the rumors say that he didn't listen to known pornography savant Larry Zeirlein last season. This means that not only was Faneca not helping, but he actively hurt the offensive line. And, with a new center (cross your fingers and hope that Sean Mahan does not return) that means that Ben might call the protections at the line of scrimmage, which means that someone else will not fuck them up. Granted, this was an exhibition game against the Eagles where they did not blitz (the Eagles without the blitz are about as potent as a 90 year-old man without ED drugs), but they looked great.
3. Rashard Mendenhall is not ready. Maybe he shows more in the next few preseason games, but, as of right now, he's a complementary back at best. He runs too high (Tomlin talked about this leading up to the game, Mendenhall got whacked on his first carry, then crouched down the rest of the game) and he can't see the hole. If you have Willie Parker on your Fantasy Football team... KEEP HIM.
4. We still don't have a return team. Mendenhall got work, Drummond got work, Moore got work, but none of them is the answer. We improved from 8-8 to 10-6 by cutting down on turnovers and fixing special teams just a little bit. Imagine how well we can do if we totally straighten out the return game.
5. We won. Goddamnit, that's important. Good job, boys!

On Training Camp:

I went to Training Camp this week and got pictures. They will be posted soon, but I'm too tired after two months of not posting to mess around with Picasa. I will return.

Above All, Remember This:

Football season is right around the corner! Do not abandon hope! Death is but a door, time is but a window... I'll be back.